China's state media is struggling and censors are working overtime as Beijing gropes for a coherent narrative in the wake of the sudden reversal of its hallmark zero-Covid policy.
Sitiveni "Rambo" Rabuka is an ex-soldier and former international sportsman who on Saturday returned as prime minister of Fiji after a 23-year hiatus.
Half a million people in a single Chinese city are being infected with Covid-19 every day, a senior health official has said, in a rare and quickly censored acknowledgement that the country's wave of infections is not being reflected in official statistics.
STORY: The fire had broke out on Friday (December 23) and killed at least 20 people, according to Tass news agency.The agency quoted fire safety officials as saying the entire second floor of the building had been gutted. The blaze had been brought under control."At the site of the fire, rescuers continue to work on the rubble in conditions of low air temperature." the report said.Officials said many homes for the elderly operated without registration throughout Russia and could not be subject to inspections as they were officially considered private property.
Former military commander Sitiveni Rabuka was on Saturday confirmed as Fiji's prime minister, after accusing the outgoing government of stoking "fear and chaos" to derail his return to power.
Independent and swing voters have been turned off by Trump's presentation of Republicans as "nasty and tended toward chaos," McConnell said.
Despite his international success, including a new adaptation of the classic puppet tale "Pinocchio," Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro fears that his country's cinema industry is facing "systematic destruction."
He wanted thousands of National Guard troops to shield him and supporters from any imagined "threat from left-wing counterprotesters," according to testimony.
Movie fans disappointed that their favorite actor was cut from a film after appearing in the trailer can sue the studio for false advertising, a US judge has ruled.
STORY: A gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural center and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris on Friday, prompting violent protests in nearby streets as night fell.President Emmanuel Macron said France's Kurdish community had been the target of a heinous attack. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspected assailant had clearly wanted to target foreigners.Multiple gunshots were fired on Rue d'Enghien at about midday, creating panic on a street lined with small shops and cafes in the French capital's busy 10th district.All three of those who died were Kurdish, a lawyer for the Kurdish cultural centre told Reuters. Three others were wounded, one of them with life threatening injuries.Authorities said they had arrested a 69-year-old man, who Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said had recently been freed from detention while awaiting trial for a sabre attack on a migrant camp in Paris a year ago. He was convicted in June of committing violent acts with a weapon in 2016, and had lodged an appeal.Reuters was not immediately able to contact legal representatives for the suspect.
STORY: Romania's State Secretary for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat told local media at the scene that the accident was "rather serious" and a total of 22 injured were transported to local hospitals.An investigation into the cause of the accident was underway.
The first picture has been shared ahead of the new monarch's Christmas broadcast.
The Jan. 6 House select committee's report details how military leaders came to fear the ex-president would misuse troops in an attempt to cling to power.
STORY: Riot police fired teargas to push back an angry crowd in Paris late on Friday, after a gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural center and nearby cafe in the French capital.A fire raged in the street, just a short distance from the scene of the shootings as projectiles were thrown at police officers. A lawyer for the Kurdish cultural center told Reuters that all three of those who died were Kurdish. Three others were wounded, one of them with life threatening injuries.Earlier, protesters chanted “Martyrs never die" as Kurdish leaders called for better protection for their community.The country's interior minister said police were reinforcing security at Kurdish community sites."I asked all the police services in Paris and elsewhere in the national territory to protect the places where the Kurdish community gathers... The killer is French. He is 69 years old. He was not considered an extremist by the intelligence services such as the General Directorate for Internal Security or the Paris and national intelligence services... Obviously, he wanted to attack foreigners. We will find out from the judicial inquiry led by the public prosecutor if he was specifically targeting the Kurds. For the moment, no element makes it possible to know it."Authorities said the French assailant they arrested had recently been freed from detention while awaiting trial for a saber attack on a migrant camp in Paris a year ago.Kurdish leaders have long called for better protection of their community, since the high-profile killings of three Kurdish women a decade ago. As evening fell in Paris, police vans lined the streets near Saint-Denis Gate as riot police stood guard and investigators combed the scene of the shooting, which French President Emmanuel Macron called a heinous attack.
STORY: Travel warnings have been issued from coast to coast, CTV said.Every province and territory is experiencing extreme weather, prompting warnings during the busiest travel weekend of the year, CTV reported.Heavy snowfall and low visibility from a strong winter storm blanketing Pacific Canada forced the country's second busiest airport in Vancouver to halt all flights on Tuesday morning.
STORY: "There have been a huge number of letters. The common feature in all of them is that people wish the world to calm down - children and adults alike wish the same," he said, adding, "My wish too, is that the stormy year will turn into a better and more peaceful direction with Christmas."Wishing everyone a "relaxing, peaceful and happy Christmas", Santa set off in his reindeer-driven sleigh, waving to the crowd as he left.The grand opening of the Christmas season was officially held on November 19, in the central square of Santa Claus Village, where Santa Claus receives visitors 365 days a year, according to the Rovamiemi tourism website, visitrovaniemi.fi.
STORY: China is expecting a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, a health official said, with authorities predicting extra strain on the country's health system even as they downplay the disease's severity and continue to report no new deaths.In the face of a surging outbreak and widespread protests against its "zero-COVID" regime of lockdowns and testing, China began dismantling it this month, becoming the last major country to move towards living with the virus.China's containment measures had slowed the $17-trillion economy to its lowest growth rate in nearly half a century, jamming global supply chains and trade.
"I’ve grown increasingly exhausted with the implication that if I don’t adopt a white or 'American' transness, I’m somehow living wrong.”
STORY: A Polish priest is racking up millions of views on his TikTok videosLocator: Rybnik, PolandAdrian Chojnicki, known as 'Padre Adriano,' teaches catechism classes at a high school He and his students dance togetherand share religious teachings (Adrian Chojnicki, Priest)"For me, the aim of posting these videos is to give a positive image of the Church. I really want people to see the Church from the inside, to see everyday life, to see that the Church can be crazy, that the Church can be warm, it can be attractive.”Chojnicki said he's convinced that if Jesus was alive today, he would have a TikTok too
STORY: The fire has consumed 125 hectares (308 acres) so far, the Chilean Interior Minister, Manuel Monsalve said, as firefighters struggled to contain it.The Chilean government also declared an emergency state in the Vina del Mar area on Thursday night.The fire started in a wooded area but quickly advanced towards populated areas. Officials said that on Friday (December 23) morning, there were still three active areas of forest fires.The high temperatures recorded at the beginning of the austral summer season and strong winds facilitate the spread of forest fires.
STORY: Around 100 actors are part of this living nativity show inside a Slovenian cave Location: Postojna, Slovenia Visitors are able to see the story of Jesus Christ’s birth told across 16 scenes set up along a 3-mile underground path (Marjan Batagelj, Show organizer) "The shows are daily in intervals of 15 minutes. And just imagine how much effort the people who are sometimes staying up to five hours in the cave put in. And after all that they still say 'we are happy to be part of this story.'" The live nativity show started in 1989 More than 2,100 colored lights are used in the performance Efforts are underway to have the show added to the UNESCO World Heritage List
STORY: Darmanin said the suspected assailant had clearly wanted to target foreigners, but there was no evidence yet that he had picked out Kurds specifically.Multiple gunshots were fired on Rue d'Enghien at about midday, sowing panic on a street lined with small shops and cafes in the French capital's busy 10th district.All three of the deceased victims were Kurdish, a lawyer for the Kurdish cultural center told Reuters.As evening fell, riot police fired teargas to push back an angry crowd a short distance from the scene of the shootings as projectiles were thrown at officers, rubbish bins and restaurant tables overturned and at least one car damaged.
"sorry i didnt reply my cat was laying on my chest and reminding me that life is worth living"
STORY: Displaced by conflicts across central Africa, many of the children living in the Dembo Refugee Camp have never the chance to celebrate the holiday, or even received a Christmas gift. But thanks to a "Christmas Tree" ceremony organized by the World Bank, many got to celebrate for the very first time.Henriette Batnan, who was forced to flee her home in the Central African Republic in 2017, was overjoyed to bring her son Edouard to the ceremony. Dressing him in ceremonial robes, she told him he would receive his first Christmas gift in nearly six years that day."I am very pleased today to see my child having fun with others at this Christmas ceremony. It makes me happy to see him laughing, having fun, and most of all getting Christmas presents" she said.This week's celebration in Dembo was organized by the World Bank's Refugees and Host Families Support Project, which provides basic needs to refugees and works to expand education and health services in camps.
The "Dead to Me" star was diagnosed with MS last year and now wields a "humor shield."